I have a Lanex Altea (6 months old) which I washed last week for the first time. I washed it three times in clean water, the fourth time I added 2 teaspoons of Bio Classic (used for normal clothes) and I then rinsed it twice. My owners manual states: \"Soap or soap flakes are best for washing rope.\". I hanged my rope to dry for four days.

I used my rope today for the first time after it has been washed, and there were two things that worried me The first is that the rope now has this bitter taste when you put the rope in your mouth, to take up slack when clipping. Trust me, you taste it very well

And the other is that the rope now runs a lot quicker through your hands and belay device than it used to. The rope also has this strange feel of plastic, but the rope has never been damaged, burned whilst belaying, nor was the rope that dirty

My question is should I be worried about the bitter taste Has anybody had the same experience And about the rope running quicker. Will it return to normal after some use, or is it a normal side effect for a rope that has been washed for the first time

Lanex have responded to my email, here is what Jiri Gazda (product manager) had to say:

\"It could be that the bitter taste is due to standard treatment you have washed from your rope. We buy our fibers that have already been treated by our supplier. It could be that this bitter taste is due to this washing out. If you have washed your rope under conditions mentioned in our instruction manual, with neutral solutions this should not change the safety parameters of the rope.\"